Minion Masters

Minion Masters: Forced to Duel for PC and XONE is a simple real-time strategy with card games mechanics. The title combines fantasy and science-fiction elements. Quick online battles during which units are controlled by AI play a crucial role. The title is developed by Danish BetaDwarf Entertainment responsible for such titles as Forced and FORCED: Eternal Arenas. The mechanics are very similar to those in Clash Royale, Brawl Of Ages, and Battle Islands: Commanders.

Plot

The game is embedded in the universe of the studio’s previous title – Forced – where science-fiction mixes with fantasy. This means that magic skeletons can fend off futuristic war robots and dragons can cover high-tech soldiers with plasma rifles. AI named C-SAR stands behind battles between the titular Minion Masters.

Mechanics

Minion Masters: Forced to Duel published on PC and XONE is a real-time strategy with card games elements, featuring quick online 1v1battles. Each battlefield is composed of four parts: player 1’s arenas on the left, player 2’s arenas on the right, and two bridges in between. There is a pedestal at the edge of each arena, on which stands the player’s Minion Master – the character with unique abilities, chosen by the user. In order to win, you need to destroy the pedestal belonging to the enemy.

During combat, you deploy units and buildings on the battlefield, and cast offensive and defensive spells. All actions drain mana, which slowly regenerates. Depending on the cards you have in your deck, you are able to use different units and buildings in a given match. The deck, which is the actual army, can be freely customised between battles. In contrast to other card games, in Minion Masters it is possible to compose a deck with a few identical cards.

The units you send to the battle are controlled by the AI. All you need to do is choose the right moment and place of deployment. The fighting units automatically head to the nearest bridge and then to the enemy Minion Master, fighting opponents on their way. To break through the enemies, you need to match your units to the dangers. Placing a tower next to a building-attacking unit might not be the best idea, while pitting your soldiers against such enemy means defeating it with no losses. Some characters are unable to attack flying enemies, which is important to keep in mind while selecting your units to fight against dragons and levitating robots. From time to time, the production building generates a free unit, but if undefended, the construction turns into an easy target.

Minion Master’s special skills are a real treat. Over time, the main hero earns experience points, which, once you’ve crossed certain limits, unlock special bonuses. Those include Master’s weapon upgrades (e.g. extending its range to the whole map), enhancements of units (e.g. amplifying damage), and unique abilities allowing for e.g. temporarily joining the battle and fighting hand in hand with regular units. The bridges linking the players’ arenas play crucial roles in unlocking special abilities of Minion Masters. Driving the enemy from a bridge and seizing it translates into gaining more experience points.

Game modes

Quick battles between players serve as the main dish in Minion Masters: Forced to Duel released on PC and XONE. In the standard mode, you can join a battle any time, but your army can be composed only between clashes. In Draft mode, your deck is combined randomly, and in order to enter a battle, you need to pay with one of the game’s currency. Draft consists in winning as many matches as possible before losing three on your own. The better you do, the better the prize. Additionally, the title offers single-player Solo Challenges, which focuses on fighting against AI on a few difficulty levels.

Technical aspects

The visuals of Minion Masters: Forced to Duel for PC and XONE are colourful and diverse, which is characteristic to light-hearted online games. The cartoon style is confronted by the fact that using certain types of weapons causes litres of blood splashing on the screen.

Last updated on 23 June 2017